One-third of Americans plan to go away this summer

After a year of the coronavirus outbreak, more Americans plan to travel again for summer vacation. One-third of Americans are planning to go away for vacation this summer, and more than half who plan to do so say they will travel at least 500 miles away from home. Thirty-four percent of Americans say they plan to go away for vacation this summer, while 63% will not.

The percentage of Americans who plan to go away for the summer has increased from last summer and is now nearly at the level it was in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic began. In 2020, just 22% of Americans said they intended to go away for the summer, and most who had those plans last year thought it was at least somewhat likely they would have to cancel their plans due to the pandemic.

More than half who are traveling will be traveling 500 miles or more, including 31% who plan to travel 1,000 miles or more.

 As we’ve seen in past years, income makes a difference both in whether one is traveling for summer vacation, and how far they go. Most Americans earning under $100,000 a year aren’t going away for summer vacation. Most earning more will be going away, including more than one-third that will be traveling 500 miles or more.

This poll was conducted by telephone June 8-13, 2021 among a random sample of 1,008 adults nationwide.  Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Glen Mills, PA.  Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.

The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.

 Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3.5 points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.